required different types of de-escalating messaging than (female) vendors who typically spread
information in their marketplaces. These messages then became the template for what kind of
messages to send from SNA-K during an actual crisis. Messages were also created for civic
education, to reduce community vulnerability from misinformation about the election process.
Voter education messages were vetted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission
(IEBC) to ensure accuracy.
By the 2013 election, SNA-K’s platform had over 65,000 subscribers in over 20 locations. Each
subscriber to this free platform identified factors such as their gender and their location, so that the
SNA-K team could send targeted messages. Throughout the election cycle, SNA-K monitored the
situation and sent tailored messages to inform community members about the election process, to
encourage peaceful choices, and to intervene in specific instances of violence in local communities.
Due in part to the efforts of SNA-K volunteers and many other peacebuilding organizations aimed
at responding to and preventing electoral violence (such as Women’s Situation Rooms – “innovative,
real-time groups convened around election cycles to anticipate and combat electoral violence,”
(Bigio/Vogelstein, p. 4)), the 2013 election was relatively peaceful.
Recommendations:
1. Use easily accessible technology as a platform to incite peace through communication instead
of violence, as Sisi Ni Amani Kenya did in the 2013 elections.
2. Consult with women and other identity groups including people of various ages, ethnicities,
(dis)abilities, etc., to devise messaging to break misinformation paths that incite violence.
3. Include women in violence-prevention initiatives in volatile election seasons. Incorporate
women and other identity groups on the ground to report emergent and actual violent
incidents to enable efficient and relevant response.
Implications:
If various identity groups (including women, men, various ages and ethnicities, etc.) are not consulted
in the development of messaging to prevent electoral violence, these messages will be less likely to
effectively convince people to remain peaceful. If women are not consulted in the development of
strategies to prevent violence, efforts are less likely to effectively reach the entire population, especially
because women have unique perspectives which encompass experiences from roles in which they may
engage large segments of the public, such as vendors, etc. However, if women are included, “research
shows that women’s participation in early warning mechanisms can help mitigate instability during
election cycles that are frequently marred by violence triggered by perceptions of flawed electoral
processes or political and ethnic tensions,” (Bigio/Vogelstein, p. 4).
Event Description:
This lesson is based on these sources:
“Everyday Technologies Can Help Counter Violence and Build Peace,” by Nancy Payne, in USIP’s Charting
a New Course Thought for Action Kit: Women Preventing Violent Extremism, (2015).
“Programming for Peace: Sisi Ni Amani Kenya and the 2013 Elections,” CGCS Occasional Paper Series,
(Dec 2014). See also: http://www.sisiniamani.org/ & Rachel Brown: Communicate Peace, Pop!Tech 2012.
“How Women’s Participation in Conflict Prevention and Resolution Advances U.S. Interests,” Jamille Bigio
& Rachel Vogelstein, Council on Foreign Relations Discussion Paper (Oct 2016).
Table of Contents | Quick Look | Contact PKSOI
Page 6 of 34